Butterfly
by Treta Aysel
Summary: [Modern AU] While camping, Philip and Theodosia find a caterpillar.


**Butterfly:**

_June 5__th_

"Theo! Look what I found!" Philip called, glancing up from his cupped hands. He spotted his friend a few yards away from where he stood. He raced over to her, curls bouncing up and down as he did, grin on his face.

Blinking, Theodosia looked up from the part of the grass she was looking in. "What is it?" She pushed herself off the ground, not bothering to dust off her clothes. They were camping and dirt was everywhere. Philip finally finished coming over to her, finally showing the caterpillar that he was cradling carefully.

She let out a soft gasp as her eyes widened a bit. "Are you gonna keep it?"

Philip nodded, grinning still. "Yeah, we can take care of it together! We can be its mommy and daddy."

Theodosia giggled a bit. "Let's go see if your mama has a jar for it!" She said as she led the way back to the Hamilton's cabin. It was easy enough to find Eliza standing there preparing something for dinner in the outdoor kitchen as Philip's younger brother, Alex, sat there on a blanket and played with some blocks.

"Mama!" Philip called as he glanced in his hand at the caterpillar. "Can we have a jar?"

Eliza looked away from the salad she was mixing up nodding her head as she found a jar that she had washed earlier that day on the counter. She dried it off and Philip put the caterpillar inside and grabbed a piece of lettuce putting it in with the caterpillar.

Eliza smiled as the watched the two of them before turning back to the meal she was preparing. "Where are you going to keep it?"

Theodosia chewed on her lip, pushing her own curls out of her face. She glanced over to the cabin she was staying in with her parents next door. Her mother was getting ready to prepare a fire by the looks of it. "I don't think Mama likes bugs."

Philip glanced over to her camp site before glancing back over at Theodosia with a nod of his head. "We can just keep it here then."

Theodosia just grinned at Philip before the two of them turned their attention back to the caterpillar in the jar, watching him.

_June 8__th_

"Theo!" Philip called as he raced over to their cabin one morning.

She was by the door, looking at the picture book she had brought on the trip with them. Her brown eyes studied him curiously. "What is it?"

"Our caterpillar! You have to come see it!" He said, grasping her wrist and pulling her up before dragging her in the direction of his parents own cabin.

Theodosia grinned, glancing over her shoulder to the open door as she left her book there. "Be back later, Mama." She called.

The two of them made their way into the cabin next door and bent down to look at the caterpillar in the jar, only now it wasn't a caterpillar. "What do you think it is?" Philip asked, nudging Theodosia.

Theodosia shrugged. "I don't know. Ask your mom."

Philip nodded, glancing over at Eliza who was sitting in a chair at the table with his sister, building with some blocks. "Mama?"

"Yes?" Eliza asked, glancing at them for a moment before glancing back at the structure she was building with Angie.

"Are caterpillars supposed to change?"

Eliza paused for a moment before she pushed herself out of her chair and made her way over to the two of them. She bent down next to their jar, smiling as she placed a hand on Philip's shoulder. She smiled softly as she placed a kiss to his head. "They do, they become butterflies." Her voice was soft. "Once it becomes a butterfly, you two should release it. They need a lot of room to fly around."

The two kids looked at each other, nodding before they looked before them at their changed caterpillar.

_June 15__th_

"Did it hatch?" Theodosia asked as she sat down next to him near the firepit. She was leaving in a few days and wanted to see if the butterfly had come out yet. She hoped it would before her family left.

"Sorta," Philip told her, voice soft.

She could sense the worry in Philip's voice, leaning into the jar to get a closer look. A frown graced her lips when she saw the butterfly crumpled in the bottom of the jar, wings scrunched up and the chrysalis still around it. "Oh," she chewed on her lip. "Do you think the jar was too small?"

"Mama says it happens sometimes. There's nothing we can do."

Her gaze shifted to the ground. She felt a little guilty, like they could have done more the little guy. "Philip, we should let it go." She was afraid of his reaction but braced herself for it.

Philip didn't say anything as he stared at the jar for a long moment. He nodded his head. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Theodosia was right. They couldn't keep him any longer. "He might not make it," he whispered.

"I know," she said softly as she took his hand in hers for a moment.

There was a beat.

"Tomorrow morning, please."

Theodosia nodded in agreement, "Tomorrow morning."

She sat with Philip and hour longer before she got up as she made her way over to her cabin. Her parents were both sitting around the fire that they had built, talking softly to each other. The six-year-old didn't say a word as she say next to her mother, resting her head against her.

"Everything okay? Her mother asked, turning her attention to her.

Theodosia stared at the flames, shaking her head as she watched them dance around. "No, Mama, the caterpillar Philip and I were taking care of isn't doing well. He's like stuck but we can't do anything. I told him we should let it go. He seemed sad."

Her mother sighed. "I can imagine why. It's hard to release something when you know the odds are against them."

Theodosia nodded. "We're still letting it go tomorrow."

Her mother nodded, kissing her forehead. "Why don't you get some sleep? It sounds like the two of you have a big day ahead of the two of you."

"Ye, Mama," she said as she got up and headed inside to get some rest.

_June 16__th_

Philip was already standing outside, holding the jar when Theodosia had come over into their campsite. "Ready?" He asked her.

She nodded, giving him a smile. "Yeah, are you?"

Philip nodded his head.

The two of them walked in silence until they reached the spot where they had first found him. Philip's hand froze. He glanced back at Theodosia who only smiled as she nodded. He smiled back before unscrewing it all the way.

"Wait," Theodosia began as she bent down. She made a little spot in the grass, putting some flowers with it before smiling as she looked up at Philip. "There you go, go ahead."

Philip nodded as he reached in and took out the struggling butterfly. He set it down in the spot that Theodosia had made before standing back up. "Goodbye friend, we'll miss you."

The two of them stood there silently watching the butterfly before turning around and heading back to camp, every few steps looking back to the spot they put the butterfly, wondering, and hoping, he will some how make it.

**AN: Work has been a lot lately but I was able to work on something short. Also this was inspired by the butterflies in my preschool classroom that we released this week. **


End file.
